One night universal hotel

[crabbie1]

WAs just considering whether to book a one night stay somewhere in the middle if our wdw stay. Have looked on booking. Com and I can reserve a room and not pay till 2 weeks before we go free cancellation. I have never used them but when I looked deeper it says price for 2. If you look further down they have the same room for 4 but a lot more money. Con if you ask me. Anyway is it worth the 1 night stay to get early entry and fotlp? Anyone stayed at HRH or portofino? We are looking at may 22 or 23rd to save our dvc points. Trying to work out if better to pay 4 cab fairs as not driving and folp x 4 or book the hotel. Not done universal since 2011.

 

[chmurf]

WAs just considering whether to book a one night stay somewhere in the middle if our wdw stay. Have looked on booking. Com and I can reserve a room and not pay till 2 weeks before we go free cancellation. I have never used them but when I looked deeper it says price for 2. If you look further down they have the same room for 4 but a lot more money. Con if you ask me.

Hotel prices always only include 2 adults staying in the room.
There are surcharges for each additionnal adult in the room.
This is standard.
Also check there is not a difference between a king room (accomodates 2) and a double queen room (accomodates up to 4)
sometimes, there are only "bay view" rooms left in standard rooms when there are standard king left. So the price difference might be on the view.

Anyway is it worth the 1 night stay to get early entry and fotlp?

yes.
That's what I do, pay a night on top of my WDW booking.

If you stay onsite for one night, that's $100 less in taxi ( 2 times $50 instead of 4 times $50)
you get FOTL and early entry for both check in and check out days.
you'll need to check in early like 7am-ish to be able to use early entry on check in day. Pack lightly, you'll need to carry it all inside the park on check out day or leave it with bell service and tip.

if you do the maths, you'll realise that you can get the room at universal for very little money on top of what would cost the unlimited express tickets. And what you'll save in taxi will most likely cover for the overhead;

Anyone stayed at HRH or portofino?

I usually don't like all things Italian, but Portofino has been a huge surprise. I must admit that it has become my "home" at Universal, despite the fact that it's the most expensive of the 3 deluxes.
Going back to the hotel at night on the boat, with the bay all lit up ... priceless.
I didn't like HRH that much. I love my Rock'n'Roll but I also like my "mute" button, lol.
Too busy, too noisy, I much prefer Portofino, but it's really a matter of taste.

 

[crabbie1]

Hotel prices always only include 2 adults staying in the room. There are surcharges for each additionnal adult in the room. This is standard. Also check there is not a difference between a king room (accomodates 2) and a double queen room (accomodates up to 4) sometimes, there are only "bay view" rooms left in standard rooms when there are standard king left. So the price difference might be on the view. yes. That's what I do, pay a night on top of my WDW booking. If you stay onsite for one night, that's $100 less in taxi ( 2 times $50 instead of 4 times $50) you get FOTL and early entry for both check in and check out days. you'll need to check in early like 7am-ish to be able to use early entry on check in day. Pack lightly, you'll need to carry it all inside the park on check out day or leave it with bell service and tip. if you do the maths, you'll realise that you can get the room at universal for very little money on top of what would cost the unlimited express tickets. And what you'll save in taxi will most likely cover for the overhead; I usually don't like all things Italian, but Portofino has been a huge surprise. I must admit that it has become my "home" at Universal, despite the fact that it's the most expensive of the 3 deluxes. Going back to the hotel at night on the boat, with the bay all lit up ... priceless. I didn't like HRH that much. I love my Rock'n'Roll but I also like my "mute" button, lol. Too busy, too noisy, I much prefer Portofino, but it's really a matter of taste.

Thanks for the great advice. Do you think its best to book direct with lowes and do you think I should book now or leave it a bit. booked RPR a few years ago direct but did 5 nights concierge £135 a night back then lol.I do have an AA card and wondered if I can still use like the AAA discount. I know its not peak season but being on a weekend thought it may book up. We can go any night so if the week days are likely to be a bit less busy we can book then. Im not sure if any holidays the last 2 weeks in may apart from half term the last week over here. Im not fussed which hotel but my dd fancies the HRH. Like you I like a bit of peace sometimes but as wont be their much I will just go with the cheapest of those two.

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[sandshal]

Just posted this on the resorts board - if you book via hotels.com right now and add the voucher code "NEWHOTEL" it automatically gives you 10%. No quidco/TCB discount but bird in the hand and all that! You do need to pay for the night upfront but cancellation policy is good.

 

[mackay_j]

thanks for that code- just what I needed

 

[crabbie1]

Just posted this on the resorts board - if you book via hotels.com right now and add the voucher code "NEWHOTEL" it automatically gives you 10%. No quidco/TCB discount but bird in the hand and all that! You do need to pay for the night upfront but cancellation policy is good.

I just saw your post on the universal site lol. Saw it was in £'s so guessed u were from uk. Will have a look now thankyou

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[sandshal]

Was defo the cheapest I could find.

Thomas Cook are OK but the booking is actually through hotels4u and my first night, which I booked through Thomas Cook, didnt track on Quidco so I had to chase it up and is still not confirmed. Pretty sure there's a £30 cancellation fee with Thomas Cook too whereas there doesnt appear to be a fee with hotels.com.

10% cheaper than the Universal site too and there's no pass holder discounts right now so that wasnt an option either.

Probably only works for 1-2 nights though as you may get a better rate with Universal if you plan to stay longer.

 

[Portugal1000]

Definitely worth staying for 1 night. We have done it the last 2 years and will do again this year. We stayed HRH, 1st time and RPH last year and my son said he would prefer to go back to RPH. We booked through Thomas Cook and paid £150 for 3 of us and got 8% cashback I think. That is for 20th August. I was going to stay at Portifno Bay until I realised it was quite a bit further to walk, we hate hanging around for the boats, although it one is passing we will jump on it.

 

[sandshal]

Definitely worth staying for 1 night. We have done it the last 2 years and will do again this year. We stayed HRH, 1st time and RPH last year and my son said he would prefer to go back to RPH. We booked through Thomas Cook and paid £150 for 3 of us and got 8% cashback I think. That is for 20th August. I was going to stay at Portifno Bay until I realised it was quite a bit further to walk, we hate hanging around for the boats, although it one is passing we will jump on it.

Good rate! Think it starts to drop around the 14th when US schools go back. HRH for 4 th August was £228 less the 10%

 

[joolz1910]

I booked HRH with Hotels4U for 16th Aug, 2 nights for £438. That was for a deluxe queen room. I also got £24 cashback through Quidco which tracked straight away.

 

[crabbie1]

I booked HRH with Hotels4U for 16th Aug, 2 nights for £438. That was for a deluxe queen room. I also got £24 cashback through Quidco which tracked straight away.

Some sites dont have our dates yet but I will keep an eye on all suggested thankyou. I presume the fri night will be dearer than the week nights? Might go for 21st which is a thursday instead.

 

[crabbie1]

Joolz have just checked hotels4u and on 21/5/15 HRH is £179 and 10.8% cashback via TCB RPR was £159. Really good.

 

[joolz1910]

Joolz have just checked hotels4u and on 21/5/15 HRH is £179 and 10.8% cashback via TCB RPR was £159. Really good.

Yes, it's the cheapest I could find for next year. I booked in advance as I wanted a specific type of room and had the money to pay. Missed the TCB cashback though.

 

[stephensmum]

Just booked HRH thru Hotels.com with a 10% code & paid £159.85, RPR was about £20 cheaper.

 

[orangetiggs]

Oh whats the code?

 

[stephensmum]

Oh whats the code?

I used HSUMM10.